Contact
Biography
Douglas White, MD, MAS, is the UPMC Chair for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine; Professor, Departments of Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Director, Program for Ethics and Decision Making in Critical Care Medicine, CRISMA Center, Department of Critical Care Medicine; and Vice-Chair for faculty Development, Department of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. White’s research encompasses both empirical research on, and normative ethical analysis of, surrogate decision-making for patients with life-threatening illnesses. He works to develop and test interventions which support surrogate decision-makers facing end of life decisions in ICUs. He concentrates on patient-centered care and mitigating psychological distress on surrogates.
Dr. White’s empirical research aims to (1) identify factors that adversely affect surrogate decision-making for critically ill patients and (2) to develop and test interventions to improve surrogate decision making. His normative work focuses on ethical issues that arise in ICUs, including the allocation of scarce resources, resolving futility disputes, responding to conscience-based treatment refusals by clinicians and developing fair processes of decision making for incapacitated patients who lack surrogate decision makers.
Research, abbreviated list
- PI - Developing a Communication and Shared Decision Making Tool Study
- PI - Four Supports Intervention
- PI - Partner Program
- PI - Partner II Program
- On-site PI - Improving Psychological Distress Among Survivors and their Caregivers (PI: Christopher Cox, MD, Duke)
- On-site PI - Improving Decision Making for Patients with Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation (PI: Christopher Cox, MD, Duke)
- Co-PI - Communicating Patient Values Study